Omamori
by bowiesnippleantennae
Summary: The world is a frightfully silent place for him. Likewise, she is silent to the world.


The world is a frightfully silent place for him.

His childhood was different. He knew it was different. He could tell by the way his mother coddled him, how his dad worried, how his older brother didn't care. He learned to communicate with his hands at a very young age, and at least then he could understand his situation, his mother's situation.

Not everyone could hear. What was hearing, anyway? Things like voices, music, thunder. Those were things that people heard with their ears- those useless holes in the side of their heads. But sometimes people broke those holes, filled them in with disease that could never be dug out. Inuyasha had those broken holes. His mother was good at explaining and when she told him her head holes were filled in too, he didn't feel so angry about it. At least, not for a while. Schooling changed that for him. Be treated differently changed that for him. He learned a lot of things at a very young age, like kids will push you if they find out you're weak in any way. Like if you can't hear someone coming up behind you. Inuyasha learned to always check over his shoulder, or else he could get pushed in the dirt again. And if they were feeling particularly playful, they'd do it on purpose. A lot. Inuyasha learned to not be near any of them. His mother worried about that, as well. Apparently, it's not normal for kids to stay away from everyone else on the playground, or to sit alone at snack time, or to draw pictures of monsters that have big X's where their ears should be.

Inuyasha also learned that if he complained, it made his mom sad, and if he didn't talk about it, it made his dad upset with him. He would sign furiously at Inuyasha to mind his manners, to communicate more often, to not take his anger out on others but it was just so hard. Inuyasha had a lot of anger at a very young age. His brother was no help at showing Inuyasha that younger people were anything but cruel and spiteful. He was absent, even when he was sitting next to his little brother. Just, not there. Inuyasha hated that about him. Sesshoumaru was stoic, normally, quite, most of the time, and nice, none of the time. He treated Inuyasha as an annoyance, at best, preferring to pretend he didn't know how to sign when Inuyasha knew his parents taught him so he wouldn't do this to his poor sibling. It wouldn't be until later on in his years, when he was left alone most of the time and snooped a lot of it, that Inuyasha found out they were half-siblings, that Sesshoumaru's mother was no longer in the picture, and that she was also no longer in the country. That clicked and Inuyasha didn't get in his brother's way as much as he used to. Sesshoumaru going to college helped a lot.

Whomever it was, whether they were kin or otherwise, were to be treated with suspicion and held at arm's length. That was conclusion Inuyasha was forced to come to by the time he was finishing up his schooling at home and looking towards possible colleges. Ones that catered to those who were impaired, which, to his much surprise, where a lot of them. Options were new, being an adult and making adult decisions were welcomed warmly. It was all very exciting.

So when Inuyasha came across the option to hear, even a little less than everyone else who could hear in the world, the temptation was strong, the fear was present, but the need was the winning factor. His father made the appointment.

It didn't really matter to Inuyasha if he missed a few hand signs when he rolled his eyes at his mother. She's fussing again. This happens every time he had an appointment with his hearing doctor. Inuyasha stands by the door with his hands shoved into the front pocket of his hoodie and waits for her to finish gathering her things. She scurries away to grab her husband and get everyone in the car. It was all very exasperating to Inuyasha but they had decided that this was the best course of action if he wanted anything to change.

"_And mind your manners._" She signs anxiously to her son from the front seat, twisting her body so Inuyasha is able to see her hands and mouth move to communicate. He bonks his forehead lightly on the backseat widow and pinches his two first fingers to his thumbs to signal that he will. She turns back to face front, believing him or choosing to, it didn't matter. Inuyasha wasn't going to ruin this for himself but he would have liked a little more faith. It's not like he's prone to ruining things with his bad temper or anything.

The rehabilitation center is sterile and white, just like it was the last few times Inuyasha had come for his therapy. The nurses greet them kindly as they stand at the front desk. Inuyasha watches his father share a few words with the lady at the desk from the waiting room. As Inuyasha waited for his therapist, scuffing his shoes on the floor in static irritation, he glimpses at a young girl, sitting alone at the other corner of the room, a sketchbook in hand. Something in the back of his mind wonders curiously what it is she's drawing but the fact that she probably couldn't communicate with him in the first place, and that it would be really awkward if he were to just walk over and look at the paper himself, deters him from getting up and going over there. It's probably a shitty drawing, anyway. Nevertheless, Inuyasha keeps his gaze in her direction until a nurse comes and up and signs for him to follow her. As he walks by, he couldn't help but notice her peek up at him before going back to her drawing. She seems to him to be about the same age. Not that it actually matters to Inuyasha.

The session goes by at a slow pace that makes Inuyasha regret even signing up for this. But he's here and he might as well do something to benefit his life. The machine he's hooked up to does nothing to impress him. There are apparently noises coming from it but he doesn't notice them until the high pitched ringing starts, which he mentions and the therapist writes it down. She tucks the notepad under her arm and signs to him some information that he blows off, but not entirely. His hearing is bad, he gathered that much from, you know, living his life. But some things can be done and his parents need to make another appointment.

Speaking of which, they had left to run some other errands and the slow meeting didn't actually take tha t much time. Inuyasha thanks his therapist and wonders the hallways, partly to find the waiting room again, but also because it beat sitting down and looking through magazines. He passes some people waiting in the hall, nothing to really dwell on. There's some dirt on the floor by that pot. Must be freshly planted. That door is also kind of open. Inuyasha glances inside and sees the same girl from the waiting room but this time she's at an easel, her back to the door. That seemed strange to him. He didn't know they had anything like that in this bland, white building. The door is open and considering this is Inuyasha, he saw no problem with just walking in and watching a little bit. It was less invasive than just doing the same thing in the waiting room.

Apparently, it would have been awkward either way because, unaware of the noises he could possibly be making, something catches her ear and she starts, turning towards whatever it was that got her attention. So, she could hear. Inuyasha freezes in his tracks and very quickly, makes a pinching motion with his forefinger and thumb then bows "_I am sorry,_" before retreating. She cocks her head at him and then brings her hands up in a smooth gesture of, "It's okay."

She signed. She can hear and she can sign. Inyasha's brain churns slowly as he experiences for the first time someone that wasn't a family member or someone in the deafness medical field that could communicate with him on his terms. As fast as he can reach this assessment, she has turned back and continues her... painting? He decides to stay a bit, just to see what it is she's making, exactly.

He ends up staying until the nurses find him, panting and signing furiously that they have been looking for him and his mother was worried sick. Inuyasha flicks his wrist at them in a gesture that could only read as, "_yeah, yeah_." and gets up to leave. He turns to the girl and waves, mouthing the words to her and she does the same. Maybe coming here isn't _so_ bad.

Sesshomaru greets them cooly when they arrive home. He inquires about the appointment, cordially but nothing beyond that. Inuyasha isn't surprised. It was like this every time he came home from college. Maybe if the two of them were full brothers, he wouldn't be so distant, but that wasn't the case and there was nothing Inuyasha could do about it, anyway.

"A letter came for you." Sesshomaru signs gracefully, bringing his right two fingers up to his mouth and then sliding the same hand through his other hand to indicate there was mail for him. He gives his thanks as quickly as possible and takes the note from his brother before thudding upstairs.

The back of the envelope, scribed with perfect penmanship, is his address with her name in the corner. Kikyo, an old friend. He likes to consider her that, at least. They became pen pals through a program that his parents made him sign up for when he entered middle school. It was meant to help him socialize and make friends but in a less threatening way, in hopes of him actually making friends in school as well. While the latter did nothing, Kikyo always had a reply for his letters and it just seemed right.

It had been a while since he sent his last letter and didn't even remember what they were discussing. Usually, they talked about things like what she was into. Archery, crows, sometimes she would tell him about her duties at her family's shrine. That was pretty interesting. Mostly because who the Hell still used shrines? Inuyasha's family sure didn't. She told him a lot of people visited the one her family owned so he assumed that it must be still relevant. You just had to have time to do that kind of thing. Not a deaf son who'd probably get lost anyway. Kikyo disagreed with that which kind of made Inuyasha happy. Kind of.

He eagerly opens the letter and places the envelope in a drawer with the rest of the ones she had sent him.

_Inuyasha-_

_ Your last attempt at Omamori was acceptable. You missed a few steps but considering this was your first try, you did a good job. It would be interesting to see a few different colors, as well. Maybe the more you make, the better you will get. _

_ To answer your last question, I didn't end up going out with the group of my peers who asked me. Not because I was scared, mind you, (Because I know that is what you're going to assume) but because I had prior engagements that I had forgotten about. My grandmother needed the leaves swept and the floor of the main room washed and it was also part of my training. These are chores I will be doing for the rest of my life as a priestess so I had better get used to them now. If they ask me again, and I have nothing else to do, I will reconsider. Before you get upset with me, remember the responsibilities I have and trust me when I say, I did feel some remorse at missing out on frivolous fun. _

_ I hope your studies are going well. If you need any more help with your traditional Japanese, let me know. My response might be a little late but anything that can help you will be for the good of your future grades. _

_-Kikyo_

_p.s. The sign language sheet you sent with your last letter was very informative. Thank you._

Ugh, schoolwork. She always brought that shit up. Inuyasha could pick any letter he's received from her at random and it would have at least one paragraph asking about his work, or the importance of school, or anything along those lines. It was tiring, but it was how she showed she cared, even if it was nagging.

He reaches for a blank piece of paper he kept specifically for these letters and picks out a pen, then sets to writing. He tells her about how he doesn't know why she is so hellbent on getting these dumb knots right. Then he scratches it out and tells her that they are fine as they are. Then he schools her on the art of not doing what you're told all the damn time. She will definitely reem him for his swearing but he doesn't care because he has better news. The therapy he's taking to try to get his hearing better. It would solve a lot of problems for him. Then he gives her another small lesson on sign language, this time with a few dirty words just to piss her off.

Inuyasha looks over his work, ignores any grammatical errors- she never seemed to care about them, anyway, unless it pertained to his schoolwork- then folds it in half as best as he can, then once more so it could fit into an envelope. He seals it, scribbles her address on the back and places it on his desk. It has been a much more productive day than he had originally anticipated and there is nothing wrong with that.


End file.
